Star Wars Character Movies to Feature Young Han Solo and Boba Fett

If the latest information from “several sources close to the projects” are to be believed, get ready for the stories of young Han Solo and Boba Fett while he’s on the hunt.

Sources that have spoken with Entertainment Weekly claim that the two new Star Wars movies that were discussed this week will be based around a young Han Solo and the adventures of Boba Fett leading up to his introduction in The Empire Strikes Back. The Han Solo movie would apparently be set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

While Internet chatter had focused on Yoda, these revelations don’t surprise me in the least and were actually my guesses for what we would see as I thought about it some more. Boba Fett has always been a fan favorite, but to me there just isn’t a whole lot of meat there for a story focused on him. Han, on the other hand, has a pretty limitless well of back story to tell.

Solo was the oldest member of the original trio and was supposed to be around 30 when we met him. From the outset he was set up with mysteries, and most of them have been addressed in Expanded Universe stories, but the prequel trilogy pretty much told us that stuff is no better than fan fiction. So here is a short list of what could be covered in a Han Solo-centric film.

How did Han meet Chewbacca? (Fan lore says Han rescued him from a slave camp and that the Wookie owes him a “Life Debt.”)

How did Han win the Millenium Falcon from Lando Calrassian? (Supposedly he lost it in a game of sabacc – a card game)

What do the red/gold stripes on Han’s pants mean? (From secondary sources, they are ‘Correlian Blood Stripes’ which are awarded to member’s of the military for courageous acts. Han is Correlian, although it is never said on film.)

What exactly is ‘the Kessel Run’ that lead to the boast of the Falcon having done it in less than 12 parsecs? (Kessel is supposedly a prison facility where spice is mined and smugglers sneak in and out.)

Why did Han dump a shipment of spice that got him into trouble with Jabba? (He was stopped by Imperials and searched.)

Did Han attend the Imperial Academy? (There has been more debate about this one than anything else with some saying that is what led to him rescuing Chewie and eventually being thrown out)

So, yes, there is a lot of Han’s history that has been hinted at, but never officially told… and I don’t think we need to know it.

As a life-long Star Wars fan, these two projects bother me more than any other to date. Boba Fett is just not that interesting, especially after his origin was given in Attack of the Clones. As for Han, part of his charm is that we don’t know that much about him. Things are hinted at, mentioned on the sly and that’s just fine by me. Han was always my favorite character, and while I have obviously looked into his history, I have always known it was not exactly official no matter what the source until it shows up on a movie screen. This will remove a lot of the mystery that has surrounded this scoundrel for 35 years. Leave it be.

In the end, Disney will indeed do these films. Why? Because these stories would also allow them to show off Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, Jabba the Hutt, other bounty hunters and on and on. There are thousands of potential stories to be told in the Star Wars universe, but none of them will be as ripe for merchandise and fan fervor than these two.

I agree 100%. Star Wars (the original couple of movies, at least) works best when it implies there’s all this stuff you don’t know, and lets your imagination go crazy. It works because there’s space for the audience to imagine in there. The more they fill in, the less room there is for me and you.

Lucas fails at a lot of things, but he was always good at making you think about events you never saw. Such as Han in The Empire Strikes Back saying, “Well, the bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell changed my mind.” What happened there? Was it Boba Fett? Someone else?

Honestly, I like not knowing. I don’t want all of this stuff filled in!